From the shadows, a pair of eyes in the woods of north-western Myrland were fixed on the rider and his steed moving at canter in the distance. His red Tindremic cape flowing along with the wind, the rider is arrayed in the Tindremic Knight heavy armour. The pair of eyes watching him momentarily shifts from one side of a tree to the other as the rider passes through the light forest.
Suddenly, the rider beckons his horse to stop. The loyal steppe horse, gently nudged by the rider, obeys the order in an instant. The rider looks toward the direction of the hidden stranger who has been observing him since he was a long way off, and dismounts. The pair of eyes disappear behind the tree for a good few moments. When the eyes timidly reappeared on one side of the tree again, the rider was already walking towards him, no weapons drawn.
From the cover of the woods, a short figure emerges from the shadows, soon revealed to be a human with pointy side hair and wearing only rags to cover his nakedness. A woodcutting axe in hand, he nervously approached the rider, expecting the worst. "Wh... what are you looking at? Are you going to murder me?" He asked, trembling.
The rider replied with a smile, raising his right hand at eye-level as a sign of peaceful intent, "Friendly here, I'm merely passing by to return to town and hand in a completed soldier task. What are you doing hiding behind the tree back there?" The stranger backs away a few steps, the woodcutting axe still gripped tightly in his shaking hand.
With a stammering voice, he replied, "I'm... I'm just cutting some wood. You... you better not try anything, or I'll get my ninety-year old grandmother to curse you!" The rider, who is none other than Leorias, the founder of the APC guild, nodded with a smile and watched as the man scurried off into the forest to continue his gathering of wood.
Out of character: This story was inspired by a real event that occurred while I was playing Mortal Online many years ago. It is a tribute to why I love sandbox full-PvP full-looting MMORPGs like Mortal Online 2, and the kind of emergent, unscripted memorable player interactions that can occur in the most unexpected ways and places.
Suddenly, the rider beckons his horse to stop. The loyal steppe horse, gently nudged by the rider, obeys the order in an instant. The rider looks toward the direction of the hidden stranger who has been observing him since he was a long way off, and dismounts. The pair of eyes disappear behind the tree for a good few moments. When the eyes timidly reappeared on one side of the tree again, the rider was already walking towards him, no weapons drawn.
From the cover of the woods, a short figure emerges from the shadows, soon revealed to be a human with pointy side hair and wearing only rags to cover his nakedness. A woodcutting axe in hand, he nervously approached the rider, expecting the worst. "Wh... what are you looking at? Are you going to murder me?" He asked, trembling.
The rider replied with a smile, raising his right hand at eye-level as a sign of peaceful intent, "Friendly here, I'm merely passing by to return to town and hand in a completed soldier task. What are you doing hiding behind the tree back there?" The stranger backs away a few steps, the woodcutting axe still gripped tightly in his shaking hand.
With a stammering voice, he replied, "I'm... I'm just cutting some wood. You... you better not try anything, or I'll get my ninety-year old grandmother to curse you!" The rider, who is none other than Leorias, the founder of the APC guild, nodded with a smile and watched as the man scurried off into the forest to continue his gathering of wood.
Out of character: This story was inspired by a real event that occurred while I was playing Mortal Online many years ago. It is a tribute to why I love sandbox full-PvP full-looting MMORPGs like Mortal Online 2, and the kind of emergent, unscripted memorable player interactions that can occur in the most unexpected ways and places.
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